Can you be a Buddhist if you don’t believe in karma and reincarnation?

I am sometimes asked this question, especially at the end of an introductory class on Buddhism. The person asking me will usually have been struck by one of the life-enhancing insights offered by the Dharma. Perhaps they have experienced the gentle but powerful impact that meditation has on our state of mind. Many Buddhist teachings have a strong resonance among busy Westerners for a variety of reasons.

But karma and reincarnation? Not so much.

It’s not at all surprising that most people struggle with these concepts. I certainly did. Quite simply, they are not part of our culture. The Western view, largely shaped by Christianity and materialist science, has it that when we die our souls go to heaven or hell, or alternatively that they go nowhere at all because they never existed in the first place. The idea that some part of us continues through successive experiences of birth, ageing, death and rebirth, and has done since the beginning of time, is not our way of thinking.

After all the sane and life-enhancing wisdom of Buddhism, it may seem disappointing to drag such outlandish concepts into the picture – especially as most of us can’t remember a single thing about a previous lifetime.

Hence the question: can you be a Buddhist if you don’t believe such things?

My own response to this question is simply to ask: why do you want to be a Buddhist? It isn’t necessary to give a label to yourself or what you do. If you find certain things in Buddhism that are useful to you – take them. If there are others you find weird – leave them. The objective is not to get people to join some sort of club. It is to offer tools to be happier.

If the idea that the consciousness of your now-deceased mother in law is currently experiencing reality as a termite in the jungles of Papua New Guinea sets you on edge, then, no problem. On the other hand, that suggestion may be sparking a renewed interest in this Buddhist rebirth malarkey!

Karma and rebirth are core to Buddhism. Yes, they were part of the culture in which Siddartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, grew up. But he didn’t plod along in sheep-like acceptance of convention. It is said that on the night he became enlightened he reviewed his own previous lives – one imagines, like fast-forwarding through a pre-recorded drama series – clearly noting the law of causality, or karma, playing out from one lifetime, or episode, to the next.

One of our biggest challenges, as Westerners, is letting go of the preconceptions we have about what exactly moves through different lifetimes. So conditioned by both Christianity and, ironically, materialism, about this entity known as the soul, we have a tendency to think that our acquired personality, together with memories, likes and dislikes, the ego and all its kit and caboodle, are transferred wholesale from one body to the next.

This is not the Buddhist view.

Even we beginner meditators can come to recognise, after a while, that consciousness exists at different levels. Those aspects of personality and memories, which we may have come to believe is who we truly are, turn out to be conceptual notions which come and go, with no independent existence at all. Running behind this, all the time, we discover mind to be something more subtle: a formless continuum of clarity and cognition. It is this very subtle consciousness that Buddhists say moves from one life to the next.

As for karma, all of us ‘believe’ in the law of cause and effect on a material level – we rely on it every time we turn the ignition key in the car, or press a light switch. We can also observe it at a psychological level, perhaps more easily in others than ourselves, in the way that negative thinking leads to self-harming behaviour, which in turn reinforces the negative thinking and so on, in a vicious spiral downwards. Just as the opposite is also true. Perhaps it is not so outlandish to suggest that causality can occur on a longer term basis, constantly propelling the formless continuum of clarity and cognition through different experiences.

Karma and rebirth are big subjects – certainly too much to deal with adequately in a short blog. But I hope I have provided a few tools to help any readers who may have been struggling with these concepts.

Coming back to the original question, you don’t have to believe in karma and rebirth to be a regular at Buddhist classes. But you do have to have an open mind. My advice would be to put less helpful subjects to one side, and focus on the ones that are most useful to you at this moment in your life. Often it is the case that as our understanding of one subject deepens, it illuminates others in a quite unexpected way. Step by step, we discover an elegant coherence to all the teachings.

The last word on this subject goes to Buddha himself:

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

(Asvaghosa’s Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha.)

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Comments (23)

Funny coincidence, I was just googling about reincarnation because I kind of believe in it, but still don’t know much about it. Just when I was about to give up on my research I receive an e-mail notification saying you just posted about this topic. It all makes sense to me you know, but would still like to learn some more. I’ll def get you book once I finish The Dalai Lama’s Cat and The Power of Meow, I have been reading it ever since it was published, but it makes me so sad to finish the book because then it will be all over, at least there’s a movie coming and that will for sure give me a sense of continuity hehe. Thanks for this great post 🙂

David Michie Author

Natasha

I jave been struggling with the concept of no self in a Buddhist course I am taking. Thank you David for giving me an easier to grasp perspective of the Buddhist teaching!
I love your writing and it’s accessibility is really helping me on my path.

David Michie Author

Hi Natasha, Many thanks for your message. Of all the concepts, this is one of the trickiest – it is very easy to go too far and think Buddhism is nihilistic, which it certainly isn’t! What it is is wonderfully liberating! Warm wishes, David

The idea of reincarnation has always intrigued me. The Catholics had it in their doctrine way back in it’s beginnings. I haven’t bothered to look up when they kicked the concept out, but I feel that the time might well have been during the Renaissance. From what I’ve read, which isn’t that much, many misconceptions about many things were born during that period. Do I believe in it? Not really, but I do believe in the possibility of it. The thought of being able to come back, with or without knowledge learned before, and maybe within another form would be such a wonderful opportunity. There’s no reason why it can’t be possible.

I don’t understand the concept of karma clearly enough. Sure, intending and doing good does perpetuate good, and the same for bad. But I know there is much more to this perception that I’m not grasping no matter how hard I try. Maybe someday it will all make some sense to me.

Kim Haley

I too have had many thoughts about reincarnation etc. I began meditating and studying and well it does not seem such a big deal anymore for me at least. I do not remember a past life I do enjoy saying that I must have been a slave instead of Cleopatra though .

I do sometimes find that people or their energy seems familiar or we have come together to work on something or support each others growth in some way.
maybe we were linked in some way in times before. this.

I am rereading the Power of Meow! I also read: The Magician of Lhasa. I truly do enjoy your writing and HHC is a wonderful Character.

Be Well
Cheers Kim

David Michie Author

Irene

Hi Davd,
Like Natasha, I love your writing,and your books have helped consolidate my understanding of Buddhist philosophy.
I do struggle to understand the difference between reincarnation and rebirth even after reading the definitions of both.
If rebirth is not about the transfer of likes ,dislikes etc, why is it Buddhist practice to verify the authenticity of lama past lives by checking to see if they are attracted to previous personal items?
And why do we have particularly strong karmic connections to certain people in our lives?
Any help would be very much appreciated!!!!

David Michie Author

Hi Irene, I am sometimes a little sloppy in my use of the words ‘rebirth’ and ‘reincarnation’ – the two terms are very different. Rebirth is what happens to most of us – i.e. we are propelled by karma in an uncontrolled way into our next life. Reincarnation is what happens to enlightened beings who have control of the death process, and direct their consciousness into a future experience. Hence a highly realized lama would know what items were belongings in a previous life.

We have karmic connections to certain people because of our shared pasts together … the subject of a future blog.

Many thanks for your interest! Warm wishes, David

Judy Winters

David Michie Author

Good questions, Judy, to which I have no answer. Buddha was once asked some metaphysical question, to which he responded by picking up leaves from the forest, where he and some others were walking, and asked them “Are there more leaves in my hand, or on the forest floor?’ to which they replied, ‘The forest floor.’ Buddha then said “The leaves in my hand are all you need to end your suffering.” In other words, he was saying that his teachings focused on ending our dissatisfaction, rather than providing full explanations which are, in any case, probably beyond our understanding.

Renée Barbour

Oh! How I love this post of yours, David! Reading it gave me a sense of experiencing a gentle shower of rain with sunshine through clouds. With a background of the Liberal Catholic Church ( which offers teachings about Karma & Reincarnation ) and Theosophy, these concepts are part of my life – and have been for a very long time. So it’s lovely to see them being explained so clearly and gently for the consideration of others. Hence, a heartfelt THANK YOU !!!

David Michie Author

KrisR

“It isn’t necessary to give a label to yourself or what you do. If you find certain things in Buddhism that are useful to you – take them. If there are others you find weird – leave them. The objective is not to get people to join some sort of club. It is to offer tools to be happier.”

With these words – my struggle with the question “am I a Buddhist or not?” is over. It doesn’t matter. I DON’T need to label myself.

Thank you.

David Michie Author

Thank you Kris! This letting go of the need to concretize things is actually a profound recognition. And it goes beyond calling oneself a Buddhist. You don’t have to be an anything, or box yourself into any category – religious, political, social or other. Quite a liberating feeling! Warm wishes, David

Kate Lane

Thank you – I have come to the conclusion – right or wrong – that the part of us that “goes on” to be re-born is just the very best of us, stripped of all the irritations, troubles, burdens and worries of the present existence – our karma will also follow too- no doubt, but all the burden and baggage of this life can just be laid down and left.

Having learnt that our close connections are also likely to appear in the next life makes me feel both relaxed and comforted that going on – leaving loved ones “behind” is ok and that when the moment comes, I need not look back to what is finished, but should look forwards to what is to come.

David Michie Author

Kharma

Hello! I’m only 14, but this article has helped me a lot to confirm my beliefs as a Buddhist. I’ve always thought that I was just kind of a Buddhist, because I don’t fully believe in karma (ironic from my name), but I do believe that we get reborn. Just not into something ‘worse’ or ‘better’. Who are we to judge that animals are less than us? Humans are, after all, just animals in the end. I do have a question not relating to this; is it okay to accidentally kill another living being? I step on bugs all the time, and I feel horrible about it. And science wise, we’re constantly killing microscopic organisms in the air and on the ground. Does that count? And what about our cells? After seven years, we have completely new ones. All of the tiny creatures in our bodies, keeping us alive, does it count when we kill them? Even if there’s nothing we can do about it? Thank you 🙂

Dear Kharma, What an impressive line of questioning from anyone, especially someone your age! If you accept the principles of karma explained by Buddha, there are four things which give karma its weight, or impact. These are: intention – did you plan to do what you did; object – who you did it too; completing the action – how did you undertake the action; satisfaction – being pleased with the outcome. As you can see, if you don’t intend to kill bugs, and you feel bad when you accidentally do, and they are bugs, not human beings, the karmic impact is nowhere near the same as if you do intend, and you’re pleased when it happens, and especially when the being involved is up the scale of sentience.//So, to answer your question directly, while it’s not great when we accidentally kill insects etc, nor should we be weighed down by guilt about this. Instead, the recommended action is to practice bodhichitta. That is a big subject and probably best heard from a Tibetan Buddhist teacher. I hope this helps! Warm wishes for your Dharma journey! David

Renda

Talking about reward and punishment, for the purpose of this argument let’s say some people are purely motivated by rewards or discouraged by punishment and nothing else (i.e morality, etc). If the future self can’t remember what the past live did, it’s akin to someone who works hard but only to have someone else enjoy the fruit of his labour, or someone who commits hideous crimes but the punishment goes to someone else. Although in the reincarnation concept they are the same self, but without awareness of the previous life, they might as well be two totally separate selves. So what’s the point of Karma in this case?

Hi Renda, Many thanks for your message which goes directly to the heart of the tragedy of samsara. There is no external force imposing karma on us, for example trying to teach us a lesson, or meting out justice. The way we condition our minds – as we think, so we become – is more a principle like, for example, gravity. Whether you wish to believe in it or not, it exists. There is no ‘point’ to it as such, but if we believe there are no consequences to the actions we take, we may create future suffering.